champion light

Chapter 51
"There are two days left before Scolari announces the final 23-man roster. Will Romario be able to catch the last train of the World Cup? Our reporter wanted to interview Scolari yesterday, but was rejected... Big Phil is unwilling to talk about this issue again... For Romario, this is definitely not good news!"

Gordo sat in front of the TV, looked at the screen very intently, and then sighed: "Hey, without Romario, Scolari doesn't want to get better, right? Without Romario, who will guarantee our goals? Ronaldo has been recovering from his injuries for the past year, and he just came back for a long time. It's not clear how he is..."

Rongguang Godot didn't care about what he was sighing at all, and he didn't even quite understand it.

He greeted Godot with the football in his arms and went out.

He will continue to go to special training.

While reciting the mantra, it is very difficult to dribble the ball, which made him find the feeling of being bruised all over his body when he started the special training.

He didn't feel depressed about it, on the contrary, he was very excited.

Hearing Rong Guang's voice, Godot replied hello without looking back, and kept his eyes on the TV.

The day when the answer is finally revealed is getting closer and closer. Whether Romario can participate in the World Cup affects the hearts of all Brazilians.

At this point, even the final of the Rio-São Paulo Championship is not very attractive.

※※※

On Rongguang's journey from the apartment to the lakeside park, many people were reading newspapers while walking.

Like Gordo, they are concerned about the final 23-man roster for the World Cup.

In fact, there is no suspense anymore, but everyone still hopes that Romario can enter the big list.

In April, Romario held a press conference, expressing emotionally that as long as he can participate in the World Cup, he is willing to let him be a sparring partner.

And now, even Brazil's President Cardoso has come forward to intercede for Romario.

The photo on the front page of "Reims" is that of President Cardoso, with the line "Please let Romario participate in the World Cup".

This is not fabricated by the "Reims", these are the words of President Cardoso.

It is conceivable that Romario's popularity in Brazil can make the president of a country stand up and support him.

As the first contributor to Brazil's fourth World Cup win in 1994, although Romario is a controversial figure, people will always think of him when Brazil needs victory.

The qualifiers for this World Cup are really bad. Everyone has no confidence in the Brazil team going to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. At this time, a famous striker with championship experience will make the Brazilian fans feel more at ease.

In the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, Brazil almost missed the line and could not participate in the World Cup finals.

This is a shame for the Brazilian team, which has participated in every finals since the World Cup was founded.

Over two years of qualifiers, four head coaches have been changed, and more than 60 players have been selected for the national team to play in the qualifiers.

The head coach took bribes from the agent, recruited players who were not up to the standard to be gilded in the national team, and then made it easier for the agent to sell these players to Europe at a high price... Such scandals were frequently exposed, and the former Brazil national team coach Leon and Luxenberg were both subject to similar investigations.

The image of Brazilian football has hit rock bottom.

Even if Scolari took over the team in the end, the Brazilian team got the right to qualify after stumbling.

Rong Guang walks among the crowd who are walking and reading newspapers. Although he is carrying a football on his back, even though he is a football player, the biggest football event in Brazil during this period has nothing to do with him, and he is indifferent to it.

※※※

When he came to the boulevard in Lakeside Park, Rong Guang didn't start the special training right away. He first warmed up seriously on the lawn beside the road, and then poured the football out of the net bag.

Before the football hit the ground, he picked it up again with the instep of his right foot.

Then the left foot continued to bump up the falling football.

This is how the kicks began.

Jumping the ball is not only a warm-up, but also a familiarity with the ball.This is not because Rong Guang has already learned it.

In fact, no matter whether it is jumping the ball, or passing and catching the ball and shooting, he still insists on practicing every day after he has learned these honors, but the intensity and time of training are not as good as before, just to deepen his memory.

While juggling the ball, Rong Guang began to recite the formulas taught to him by the old god.

"The complements of the same or equal angles are equal. The complements of the same or equal angles are equal..."

He still remembers what Lucas said to himself at the beginning, even when juggling the ball, he must be single-minded, so that he can truly grasp the ball nature of football.

Why did he believe in the formulas of the old god so much before, even though he didn't understand at all.Just because Lucas also said similar things, one mind and two tasks.

So he thinks that the old god's formula is absolutely correct and effective.

The football went up and down between his feet.

He has completely entered the state, and he no longer cares about everything around him.

What Romario, what Kaka, what the future of the Brazilian national team in the World Cup has nothing to do with him.

※※※

The day before the first round of the final, Brazil's final 23-man squad was announced.

As expected, Romario was not among them.

It was replaced by a young man - Kaka.

When Kaka appeared on this list, everyone realized that there were at most one or two people who needed to be investigated as Scolari said before, and it turned out to be Kaka.

There are only 23 places in the big list, and if a new person is added, another person will inevitably be removed.

Although Scolari said that Romario has long been out of his consideration because of lack of discipline.

But the media still linked Kaka's selection with Romario's defeat.

Because it's more gimmicky.

Those fans who were angry at Romario's failure to be selected all vented on Kaka.

Especially the Rio fans.

Romario is a player in Rio, and the fans in Rio naturally regard him as his own.

Kaka is a Sao Paulo player.

The two states of Rio and Sao Paulo already had conflicts, and now the conflicts have exploded...

Although Rongguang regards Kaka as his strongest enemy, in Sao Paulo, Kaka is also the darling of thousands of fans.

But in the entire Brazilian football world, he is still a rookie.His best performance in 2001 was only the Rio-São Paulo Championship, and he still lacked convincing performance in the Brazilian National Championship.

And even if Kaka is a big star in Sao Paulo, it depends on who he compares with.

Compared with Rong Guang, Kaka is simply the pride of heaven.

But compared with the "lone wolf" Romario, Kaka is a nobody.

Many Rio state media questioned Scolari's choice of Kaka instead of Romario.

They think that it is meaningless for such a young player to participate in the World Cup. No one would expect the 20-year-old Kaka to have any decent performance in the World Cup. Maybe he will be like Ronaldo in 1994. He can't even get a minute of playing time...

Doing so would be a complete waste of a big roster spot.

How can such an important game as the World Cup be reduced to an occasion for young people to increase their knowledge?
Even Sao Paulo's media did not fully support Kaka's selection to the Brazil national team. They also believed that giving up Romario was a decision destined to make Scolari regret.

When the Brazilian team collapsed in the 2002 World Cup, today's decision will become his biggest crime!
Kaka, who was originally sought after by everyone, was suddenly criticized overnight. It seemed that Romario was not selected for the national team, and it was all his fault.

This led to his sluggish state in the first round of the final against Corinthians, which was like sleepwalking. He did not help the team win at home. Sao Paulo finally lost to Corinthians 2:3 at home...

In the second round of the semi-final against Palmeiras, the glory of scoring two goals has also become a thing of the past.

Many media blatantly criticized him for not being qualified for his strength and not worthy to replace Romario in the national team.

"...Compared to Romario, the young Kaka is still far behind!"

"Kaka? Who is that?"

"Give me back Romario! We don't need to mess around with experienced rookies!"

Such overwhelming voices of criticism, questioning and ridicule hit Kaka, like a ferocious wave that overwhelmed him...

For many professional players, being selected for the Brazilian national team and participating in the World Cup is simply a supreme honor.

But for Kaka today, this honor may just be a painful torment.

He didn't understand what he did wrong, why he had to bear such tremendous pressure and was so wantonly abused.

Is this all God's test?
But despite his pious faith, he still couldn't help but want to give up—give up this opportunity and give up the spot to Romario.Anyway, I am still young, this is his last World Cup, and I can participate in many World Cups in the future...

Several times, he wanted to call Scolari.

Hand grabbed the phone but finally gave up.

Because he still can't bear it...

I did nothing wrong, why should I give up and admit defeat?
Romario is a superstar, but he is old after all.Why can't I replace him?
Thinking of this, he felt a little reconciled.

This unwillingness made him choose not to back down in the end.

※※※

When TV, newspapers, radio and the Internet are full of debates about the final 23-man squad in Brazil.

When Kaka was still distressed by the sudden criticism.

When the whole world around him is about to turn upside down, Rong Guang still conducts special training in the boulevards of Lakeside Park in the morning and evening after normal team training every day.As if the world had nothing to do with him at all.

While silently reciting the clumsy formula given to him by the old god, he practiced dribbling.

The initial stage was even more difficult than when he first started special training.

Because you have to do two things at once.

He often forgets the mantra while reciting it, or because he is so focused on reciting the mantra, he forgets the feeling under his feet, and then falls to the ground...

Although he was very embarrassed, progress was still appearing on Rong Guang's body little by little.

This is one of the reasons why Rongguang persisted.

Any effort, as long as you put in the effort, you will indeed be rewarded, and Rong Guang is willing to do it.

He is not afraid of hard work, nor is he afraid of pain. What he is afraid of is that he has paid without any return.

Unknowingly, time flies by as Rong Guang immerses himself in hard training.The final leg of the Rio-São Paulo Championship final is upon us.

On May [-], Sao Paulo challenged Corinthians away to compete for the last Rio-Sao Paulo championship.

Sao Paulo, Corinthians, who on earth carved his name on the last page of this 69-year-old event?

(End of this chapter)